Even then, though, central defender Kisnorbo can take some of the credit for it was partly on his recommendation that the Ivory Coast winger was brought to Elland Road in the middle of the month.

Clutching the sponsors' man-of-the-match champagne award, Kisnorbo revealed: "I knew Max from my Leicester days and I knew that he was available so I put his name forward to the coaching staff.

"Luckily for us, they went to get him and he's been fantastic. He's made such an impact and changed the game every time he has come on. Today he's also scored a goal which is great for him and, hopefully, we can keep him here."

"Sign him on, sign him on, sign him on," sang the Kop after the 21-year-old's introduction alongside Neil Kilkenny in the 58th minute finally put Leeds on the front foot.

"They were asking to sign him up after three minutes of his debut against Norwich," said Leeds chief of Gradel, who worked under United coach Ian Miller at the Walkers Stadium.

"But he's not our player, he's Leicester's and we are grateful for them loaning him out to us. When his loan spell ends we will speak to Leicester about the situation and if they want him back we will see where that takes us but he is obviously making an impact every time he comes on," said Grayson.

"But that is what I expect of all players when they come on – they have to make an impact. Tres (Kandol) has done it today as has Killer (Kilkenny). We now have got good squad players who can keep pushing each other.

"But Max gives us a little bit extra dimension to our game, something that we have not had before. He has that extra sort of zip about him."

That zip was certainly missing in the first half as Yeovil, bolstered by two young players to watch in Spurs loan duo Jon Obika and Ryan Mason, showed why they had enjoyed a six-match unbeaten run.

Though they played two men in front of the back four and just Sam Williams up front, they were far from defensive and manager Terry Skiverton ruefully reflected: "The last time we came here, we came to defend and lost 4-0. This time we came to attack and lost 4-0!"

He had no complaints about the result, however, as Leeds went through the gears after the break, Grayson stating: "You can look at different reasons behind out first-half performance but ultimately it's how you finish the game that counts."

The fact that Kisnorbo caught the sponsors' eyes underlines just how much a threat Yeovil had posed in that first half but Casper Ankergren had just one save to make, beating away a drive from Obika before captain Craig Alcock misdirected a free header.

Kisnorbo admitted: "We go out looking to play 100 per cent in every game but I think in the first half we were a bit flat. They built some momentum and used the ball and a few times they got in behind us looking to score. But it just shows that if someone does make a mistake then there is always someone there to help them and that has been our mentality all season. We defend from the front and we have always said that. It's not just the back four, it's the whole team defending as one big unit

"We stepped it up in the second half and we are now seven points clear which is good. But we want to be seven points clear at the end of the season not just now and so we are going to keep going right to the last game of the season – that's the mentality in the camp."

Leeds got the lift they needed just before the break when Bradley Johnson's cross deflected off Shaun McDonald and bounced past goalkeeper Alex McCarthy, who was distracted at the near post by the presence of Jermaine Beckford.

Grayson's double substitution in the 58th minute pepped up Leeds and Gradel cut inside his marker to fire home the second in the 69th.

Beckford had already netted twice from offside positions before he harried Terrel Forbes into a mistake which allowed him to curl home his 11th goal of the season in the 79th minute and his replacement, Tresor Kandol, nodded home the fourth from Robert Snodgrass's cross six minutes from time as Leeds extended their lead at the top of League One to seven points.

Beckford had scored his first senior hat-trick against Yeovil but they had foolishly claimed the striker did not scare them in a national newspaper article on Saturday morning.

"We saw the headline but I don't think he did," said Grayson. "People can say whatever they want but we will concentrate on our game. Jermaine doesn't need much motivation to try and score goals, that's for sure."

Leeds United: Ankergren, Bromby, Naylor, Kisnorbo, Hughes (Gradel 58); Snodgrass, Doyle (Kilkenny 58), Howson, Johnson; Vokes, Beckford (Kandol 81). Unused substitutes: Martin, Prutton, Grella, Michalik.

Yeovil Town: McCarthy, Alcock, Forbes, Caulker, Jones; McDonald, Kalala; Obika, Mason (Lindegaard 88), Welsh (Murtagh 73); Williams. Unused substitutes: Stam, Martin, Hutchins, Smith, Clowes.

Referee: A Haines (Tyne and Wear).


MATCH FACTS

Hero: Max Gradel

Has a style reminiscent of England's Shaun Wright-Phillips and tormented Yeovil down the right as Robert Snodgrass switched flanks, forming an equally productive threat with Bradley Johnson, who moved to left-back.

Villain: Sam Williams

Yeovil's target man finally became exasperated by the tough but fair treatment handed out by Patrick Kisnorbo and Richard Naylor, and had a bust-up with Tresor Kandol on the final whistle.

Key moment

58th-minute: Simon Grayson turns the course of the match with his double substitution.

Ref watch

Andy Haines: Had a relatively quiet match and booked just two Yeovil players, Welsh and Kalala.

Verdict

This was a tougher test than the scoreline suggests but Leeds certainly have the squad strength to make decisive changes.

Next game

Oldham Athletic v Leeds United, FA Cup, 1st round, Saturday, 5.15pm.

Quote of the day

Max gives us a little bit extra dimension to our game, something that we have not had before. He has that extra sort of zip about him.

– Simon Grayson on loan winger Max Gradel.